Honest Burgers up the game with free-range Halal chicken

FtLion was one of the first to report the exciting news earlier this year of Honest Burgers having introduced Halal chicken across all their branches.

Co-owner Tom gives FtLion behind-the-scenes access

The last time we visited them in 2019, only four of their 27 sites in London, including the one we reviewed in Ealing, catered for Halal chicken.

This time, we headed for their restaurant in Central London’s Bishopsgate to meet the founders and find out more about one of the UK’s leading burger brands.

Having started out in 2009 at a local outdoor food festival in Brighton, it goes without saying that co-owners, Philip Eeles and Tom Barton, have come a long way since then.

Being located opposite Liverpool Street tube station on Old Broad Street, this particular branch is a big one, with seating for upto 100 diners in the basement and 80 on the ground floor.

With privileged behind-the-scene access to their kitchen, Tom walked us through the stringent practices and procedures all their restaurants have in place to ensure zero cross-contamination.

In addition to the vacuum-sealed chicken being stored on separate shelves in their freezer, the prep-work for all chicken dishes in the kitchen aren’t just segregated to a designated area, but the cooking too is done on a separate grill (see our video for more details). In short, nothing appears to have been left to chance.

What’s more, this nationwide rollout would not have been possible had it not been for the recent decision of their original free-range chicken supplier (who incidentally also supply to Harrod’s) to introduce the Dhabihah slaughtering method to its farm.

With animal welfare and quality produce always having been at the heart of Honest Burgers’ ethos, Tom and Philip were previously hampered by the lack of Halal chicken that could meet their exacting standards; not any longer.

Pesto – Free-range grilled chicken breast, basil pesto, mustard mayo, tomato & rocket, £12.50 inc. a side

Night and day; chalk and cheese; apples and oranges – whatever expression is your go-to idiom in describing polar opposites, that’s the difference between free-range chicken and its factory-farmed counterpart.

Biting into this Pesto burger – covered in all that vibrantly fresh basil pesto – was an experience in itself, with everything exquisitely balanced.

In the end, this was made memorable by the mellow bitterness of the mustard mayo working in tandem with the gentle pepperiness of the rocket leaves to compliment the fresh earthiness of the pesto; while all the while allowing one to actually enjoy the natural flavour of the juicy chicken breast.

Buffalo – Free-range buttermilk fried chicken thigh, American cheese, Frank’s RedHot buffalo sauce, ranch mayo, lettuce & pickles, £13.50 inc. a side

When you pair tender chicken of this quality, which boasted a crispy-cum-crunchy buttermilk exterior, with a buffalo sauce as fragrantly tangy as this, you know you’re on to a possible contender for FtLion’s ‘Best Burger’ of the year award in December.

This was a symphony of harmony, with plenty of American cheese to add that distinct piquancy, and the combination of the ranch mayo and pickles playing their respective parts in dampening the zinginess of that lip-smacking buffalo sauce.

Fritter – Southern fried fritter, cheddar, chipotle mayo, coleslaw, onion & pickles, £10 inc. a side

Tom insisted that we try the popular Fritter vegan burger. Now, for those who don’t know, Honest Burgers actually have a vegan-based sister-site called V Honest, which opened at the beginning of this year.

But before that in 2018, the brand had introduced a vegan burger to their menu in King’s Cross following a successful four month trial involving a range of ‘Beyond Meat’ patties.

While admittedly no experts when it comes to the vegan diet, we were taken aback by how good both the texture and flavour of this patty was. You’ll see from the cross-section that not only was it juicy, but it actually had a surprisingly good meaty taste to it.

Equally as important for us was that the ‘cheese’ actually managed to deliver on that cheesy taste. In the end, while the fritters provided textural contrast, and the chipotle mayo that punchy kick, we came away thoroughly impressed.

Buffalo Wings – Free-range chicken wings with Frank’s RedHot buffalo sauce, ranch mayo & shoestring fries, £6.50

To the uninitiated, these wings may appear small; except that these are, of course, your natural free-range version, not your bolstered factory-farm equivalent.

Nothing more to say here other than the fact that the very same mind-blowingly good buffalo sauce that floored us with chicken burger, spun us 360 with these deliciously chewy Buffalo Wings; all made better by the accompanying ranch mayo and shoestring fries.

Onion Rings – Homemade light and crispy onion rings in a gluten-free batter, £4.00

These Onion Rings didn’t quite do it for us. Perhaps it was the gluten-free batter, but its loose and disparate, overly crunchy texture, which erred on the oily side, left the onions therein greasily saturated.

Having also had their skin-on fries, which were rustically served with plenty of crunchy-crispiness, we’d much rather go with these.